John Tyler

Political Offices

What political party did Tyler belong to while a senator?

Tyler served in the U.S. Senate from 1827 until 1836. Originally, he had supported President Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828, attracted by Jackson’s hostility to the national bank. However, Tyler grew wary of Jackson’s expansion of federal power. Tyler voted to censure Jackson for removing monies from federal banks. Tyler started to shift his allegiance from Jackson’s Democratic Party to the newly formed Whig Party led by Henry Clay. He resigned his Senate seat in 1836 in part because he would not vote to remove Jackson’s censure. After resigning, Tyler later officially joined the Whig Party.